FreedomWorks - Senator Ron Johnsonhttp://www.freedomworks.org/fieldtags/senator-ron-johnson
enWe Cannot Wait Until 2014, Chip Away at ObamaCare Nowhttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/we-cannot-wait-until-2014-chip-away-obamacare-now
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>During a recent conference call with bloggers to promote his bill to <a href="http://www.freedomworks.org/files/If_You_Like_Your_Plan_Text.pdf" target="_blank">allow Americans to keep their current health insurance</a>, Senator Ron Johnson told the story of a woman who is battling lung cancer and her husband who is recovering from prostate cancer. Both are enrollees in the soon to be extinct Wisconsin high risk insurance pool for patients with pre-existing conditions. The Wisconsin couple is not looking forward to seeing its "substandard" annual insurance costs double to nearly forty thousand dollars under Obamacare.&nbsp;</p><p>Stories of unnecessary hardship caused by Obamacare are happening across the country and have been relayed numerous times on the pages of this blog. <a href="http://youtu.be/fiEalgRGVIY" target="_blank">Former Obama supporters</a> and political agnostics are up in arms when they discover not only that <a href="http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21213547-obama-admin-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance" target="_blank">President Obama did not keep his promise</a> to allow Americans to keep their current health insurance, but <a href="http://www.redstate.com/2013/11/02/on-obamacare-obama-had-a-choice-honesty-or-deception-he-chose-the-latter/" target="_blank">he lied repeatedly about his intention to do so</a>. To make a bad situation worse, President Obama tried to deflect blame by pointing his finger at insurance companies whose crime was to abide by the law that President Obama signed. President Obama blamed the American people as well for being foolish enough to purchase "substandard" health insurance in the first place.</p><p></p><p>Given all this, you would think Republicans would be able to take advantage of the situation and use the opportunity to begin to roll back Obamacare in some meaningful way. Senator Johnson's bill is an attempt to do that. In fact, there are reports that a Senate Democrat who represents a southern conservative state is <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/sen_landrieu_says_shell_suppor.html" target="_blank">considering a similar proposal</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Yet, when Senator Johnson was asked whether he is <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/02/us-usa-healthcare-democrats-idUSBRE9A101I20131102?irpc=932" target="_blank">working with Senate Democrats</a> to advance similar proposals, the answer was no. When asked what his strategy was for forcing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to schedule a vote on his bill before the end of the calendar year when Obamacare goes into effect, Senator Johnson's answer was to help elect more Republicans so Republicans can take control of the Senate in 2014.&nbsp;</p><p>I am not opposed to electing conservative Republicans, but the 2014 elections are a year away. In the meantime, we should be working to chip away at this terrible law by any means available to us.&nbsp;</p><p>The website will be fixed eventually. <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/28/michelle-obama-and-cgi-federal-executive-belonged-to-student-group-at-princeton-that-hosted-pro-terrorist-speaker/" target="_blank"> Michelle Obama's college friend</a> may not know how to build and maintain a functioning website but there are internet entrepreneurs in the United States who do. Further, while <a href="http://youtu.be/0FytyxnI7Xk">private health insurance enrollment</a> may be proceeding slowly through the health insurance exchanges, <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/campaign-spot/361925/why-it-matters-how-many-early-signups-are-medicaid-jim-geraghty" target="_blank">Medicaid enrollment</a> is not. &nbsp;Medicaid expansion will continue to drain state and federal budgets while providing substandard care.&nbsp;</p><p>Since many Senate Republicans are unwilling to take the larger step of pushing to <a href="http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/obamacare-fy14-budget-ensure-integrity-programs-redistribute-tens" target="_blank">defund Obamacare</a> in whole or in part, they must embrace smaller steps like Senator Johnson's bill and tie their passage to must-pass pieces of legislation like the budget. If we keep kicking the Obamacare can down the road until 2014 or 2016, it may be too late, especially for the couple in Wisconsin.</p></div></div></div>Tue, 05 Nov 2013 14:48:08 +0000EyeOnFreedom58053 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/we-cannot-wait-until-2014-chip-away-obamacare-now#commentsSenator Ron Johnson Introduces Legislation to Allow You to Keep Your Health Care Planhttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/senator-ron-johnson-introduces-legislation-allow-you-keep-your-health-care-plan
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Remember when President Obama said "If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan" <a href="http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/28/21213547-obama-admin-knew-millions-could-not-keep-their-health-insurance" target="_blank">but did not really mean it</a>? Senator Ron Johnson thinks President Obama should keep his word and has introduced legislation to ensure that Americans can in fact keep their plans.</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/q3wf1XptDhE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p><p>
</p><p></p>The "If You Like Your Health Plan, You Can Keep It Act" gives the two million plus Americans who have already received cancellation notices from their health insurance companies and the millions more whose premiums are skyrocketing an out. It allows them to do what President Obama promised, keep their current health insurance. Senator Johnson's bill would allow people who change jobs to enroll in their new employer's current health insurance plan as well.
<p>The bill is far from perfect. For instance, Senator Johnson's bill is silent as to whether an employer can modify an existing plan by changing a premium or a co-pay or some level of benefit coverage. Senator Johnson's bill does not defund Obamacare either, so the <a href="http://youtu.be/bQ8q1L4maHw" target="_blank">vast expansion of single-payer government health insurance</a> through Medicaid continues apace. Nonetheless, it is a significant step in the right direction and should be embraced. </p>
<p>In order to have any chance of becoming law, however, Senate Republicans need to be willing to do what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Texas Senator John Cornyn swore they would not do at a fundraising retreat this past weekend, tie any rollback of Obamacare to forthcoming budget battles. Addressing the "<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/mitch-mcconnell-government-shutdown-98943.html" target="_blank">elephant in the room</a>," Senator McConnell suggested that the strategy of tying the Obamacare rollback fight to budget battles "could not and would not work” and was "not conservative policy." Unless Republicans are willing to tie bills such as this to budget resolutions, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid can block them from ever receiving a vote.</p>
<p>Republicans need to embrace the political momentum we have now and seize this opportunity to begin to roll back Obamacare. Democrats and liberal pundits are beginning to abandon President Obama allowing him to sink in his own political quicksand in an effort to save their own political skin. It is time for Republicans to unite as a party, lend a hand to any Democrat with an outstretched arm, and begin the process of dismantling this "crowning achievement" that is destroying health care and our economy. </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-files field-type-file field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Files:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><span class="file"><img class="file-icon" alt="" title="application/pdf" src="/modules/file/icons/application-pdf.png" /> <a href="///d7.freedomworks.org.s3.amazonaws.com/If_You_Like_Your_Plan_Text.pdf" type="application/pdf; length=28302">If_You_Like_Your_Plan_Text.pdf</a></span></div></div></div>Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:20:33 +0000EyeOnFreedom58040 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/senator-ron-johnson-introduces-legislation-allow-you-keep-your-health-care-plan#commentsAnother Scandal by Obama Administrationhttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/another-scandal-obama-administration
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Amidst ongoing questions concerning the potential cover-ups by the Obama Administration of Fast and Furious and the Benghazi attack, another scandal is coming back to light for the White House.&nbsp; The U.S. Secret Service made the news last April when a number of agents were suspended after being accused of consorting with prostitutes while in Cartagena, Columbia for the Summit of the Americas attended by President Obama.&nbsp; As he did with the latest scandals surrounding his administration, the President called for an investigation into the incident:</p><blockquote><p>What happened here in Colombia is being investigated by the director of the Secret Service," Obama said. "I expect that investigation to be thorough and I expect it to be rigorous," the president told reporters in his first public reaction to the controversy. If it turns out that some of the allegations that have been made in the press are confirmed, then of course I'll be angry.</p></blockquote><p>In the days following, the news from officials was (as we’ve come to expect) conflicting.&nbsp; Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA)&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/16/us-summit-americas-secretservice-idUSBRE83F01720120416" target="_blank">stated</a>&nbsp;on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that “wheel-up parties when the president leaves,” were not unheard of, but these kinds of activities before the President even arrives on the scene was news to him.&nbsp; Political Analyst David Gergen, who has worked for four Presidents, also&nbsp;<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/16/us-summit-americas-secretservice-idUSBRE83F01720120416" target="_blank">confirmed</a>&nbsp;that incidents such as the prostitution scandal were known to happen. &nbsp;Senator Joe&nbsp;Lieberman (I-CT)&nbsp;<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secret-service-prostitution-scandal-lieberman-calls-for-wider-investigation/2012/04/22/gIQAXnxeaT_story.html" target="_blank">called</a>&nbsp;for White House personnel who were also in Cartagena at the time to account for their activities as well. &nbsp;The day after Lieberman's statements, White House Secretary Jay Carney&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=5e6a503b-febc-412c-946e-f42be8fe8341" target="_blank">stated</a>:</p><blockquote><p>There have been no specific, credible allegations of misconduct by anyone on the White House advance team or the White House staff. Nevertheless, out of due diligence, the White House Counsel's office has conducted a review of the White House advance team, and in concluding that review, came to the conclusion that there's no indication that any member of the White House advance team engaged in any improper conduct or behavior. &nbsp;So, simply out of due diligence, over the last several days that review was conducted, and it produced no indication of any misconduct.</p></blockquote><p>As&nbsp;<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/10/exclusive-inspector-generals-report-contradicts-secret-service-on-prostitution-scandal/" target="_blank">reported</a>&nbsp;by Jake Tapper of ABC News, Secret Service director Mark Sullivan testified soon after in May before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee that the disgraceful behavior of the Secret Service members was “not part of our culture” and “we have not found this type of behavior was exhibited by any of these individuals before.” &nbsp;&nbsp;Still, members of the Senate investigating the incident&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/23/secret-service-prostitution-scandal_n_1538774.html" target="_blank">persisted</a>&nbsp;that the current scandal was just the newest in a pattern of behavior exhibited consistently behind the scenes in the Secret Service agency. &nbsp;Sen. Lieberman maintained that allegations and complaints of sexual misconduct aimed at Secret Service employees had been made 64 times in the last 5 years.</p><p>Later, after the Secret Service completed their internal investigation and reported to the Senate committee on it, the Department of Justice (DOJ), according to a&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=558fea7c-e06d-4afa-b8e1-dc431f091c69" target="_blank">memo</a>&nbsp;released today by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), refused to work with the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (DHS OIG) to complete an independent investigation.</p><p>Additionally, when the DHS OIG completed their report and gave it to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano September 26th, she failed to take any actions to follow up on it.</p><p>As the ranking Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, Sen. Ron Johnson was able to review the DHS OIG report and expressed concerns about discrepancies between public statements by administration officials and information contained within the report. &nbsp;He also found that Secret Service agents involved in the scandal may still be on the government's payroll. &nbsp;When Johnson's office requested additional information regarding what they'd found, DHS, the DOJ and the White House ignored their inquiries.</p><p>The inspection by Johnson has&nbsp;<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/10/exclusive-inspector-generals-report-contradicts-secret-service-on-prostitution-scandal/" target="_blank">revealed</a>&nbsp;that prior to Sullivan's testimony before the Congressional committee, the Secret Service director was informed of previous incidents by Secret Service agents involving prostitution. &nbsp;Further, although Sullivan testified that the names of the prostitutes had been run through U.S. national security and law enforcement databases and hadn't raised any red flags, the inspector general's report claimed otherwise. &nbsp;In fact, two of the women's names had initially been found to be potential security concerns and one is still being investigated. &nbsp;According to a FoxNews.com&nbsp;<a href="http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/16/secret-service-director-eyed-probe-over-colombia-scandal/#ixzz29VVYPnp4" target="_blank">source</a>, Sullivan blatantly lied to Congress in his testimony. Sullivan has also potentially misled Congress in his written responses and conspired with those around him to "manipulate, falsify, or edit records to downplay past problems."</p><p>The DHS OIG report also uncovered hotel records that seem to indicate, contrary to White House Secretary Carney's statement, that one officer with the Department of Defense and one member of the White House staff and/or advance team checked prostitutes into their rooms in Cartagena. &nbsp;Unfortunately, because the DOJ wouldn't cooperate with the DHS OIG, the investigation was limited in assessing whether additional White House personnel were involved in the scandal. &nbsp;In his&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve?File_id=5e6a503b-febc-412c-946e-f42be8fe8341" target="_blank">letter</a>&nbsp;to White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew, Johnson assessed:</p><blockquote><p>The national security risks associated with this type of misconduct threaten the very safety of the President of the United States and creates and environment where sensitive information may be stolen, accessed, or otherwise extracted from U.S. personnel. &nbsp;Further, this type of disappointing behavior creates an opportunity for blackmail.</p></blockquote><p>Former undercover FBI operative Brandon Darby, who has worked in both counterterrorism and human trafficking investigations, has expressed concerns&nbsp;<a href="http://townhall.com/tipsheet/elisabethmeinecke/2012/07/30/fbi_informants_speak_out_eric_holders_doj_is_ignoring_child_sextrafficking_victims" target="_blank">previously</a>&nbsp;about cases of prostitution being covered up within the FBI, with help from the DOJ. &nbsp;Darby stated to RedState:</p><blockquote><p>The men and women of the FBI and DOJ as a whole are great patriots. The politically appointed leadership has exhibited a tendency under Eric Holder to neglect the needs of trafficked women and minors, for that matter, involving cases of sex and prostitution.</p></blockquote><p>For the past month, the DOJ has claimed they are "busy" and have been unable to provide an attorney to receive the report from DHS. &nbsp;Considering the information from Darby, however, it may be the case that the DOJ is fine allowing this scandal to go unreported until after the election.</p></div></div></div>Mon, 22 Oct 2012 17:03:25 +0000breeanneh55677 at http://www.freedomworks.orghttp://www.freedomworks.org/content/another-scandal-obama-administration#comments